


Neighbors

by SnowWhiteKnight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowWhiteKnight/pseuds/SnowWhiteKnight
Summary: Bronn, Sandor, Jaime and Gendry live together to save on expenses. The house next door has been on the market for as long as they can remember, until one day it gets sold and a bunch of sorority girls move in.





	1. Chapter 1

*******Bronn*******

“Oy, move your damn head, I can’t see,” Bronn complained. Gendry was only a few inches taller than him, but much broader and thoroughly irksome at the moment.

“Whoa...I think  _ those _ are the new occupants,” the younger man said. Of the four men who lived in the house, Gendry was the youngest at twenty, then Sandor at twenty-five, and Jaime and Bronn were the same age of thirty, though Jaime was a few months older. They called themselves the Fivers after a particularly rowdy night of drinking and they realized they were five years apart, except for Jaime and Bronn, who were five months apart. Jaime was very put out that he was the eldest.

Bronn gave up and shoved his roommate for a better view. “Whoa…”

“What? What is it? It’s not frat boys, is it? Mr. Frey talked my ear off for a fuckin’  _ hour _ about how he heard that a frat house was moving into the neighborhood,” Sandor said, walking into the room, with Jaime right behind him. Bronn wanted to laugh. Mr. Frey was an ornery older man who lived in the largest house in the neighborhood, and for some reason, found Sandor delightful to talk to. Sandor complained about it, but Bronn knew he actually enjoyed talking to that old coot. Mr. Stevron Frey lived with and took care of his father, Old Walder Frey, who was a horrible man and hated everyone, including his son. Stev, while ornery, was actually a pleasant fellow after you got to know him.

“No, sooooo much better,” Bronn said with a grin. “Our new neighbors are of the gentler persuasion.” He looked back out the window, at the two women standing on the front lawn, a lanky, short, dark brown haired female who looked angry, and another that Bronn couldn’t stop staring at, light brown hair that fell past her shoulders, bright almost feline looking eyes, and a coy smile as she spoke to the shorter girl. It was the smile that got him. He wanted to see it turned towards him.

“She’s pretty…” Gendry whispered. “We should go talk to them. Sandor can bake a cake or pie or something…”

“No.”

“Oy, if you don’t bake it, I’ll do it myself,” Bronn threatened. Sandor growled and stormed off towards the kitchen.

“You’re probably going to regret that later,” Jaime said wryly. “He’ll probably make a strawberry pie just to spite you.” Bronn just shrugged. “You realize, if he makes a strawberry pie, you won’t be able to try for any kisses from any of those girls, right?”

*******Jaime*******

Bronn stared at Jaime, then followed Sandor into the kitchen. Jaime laughed then joined Gendry at the window. “Do you think we should go over there already?” Gendry asked.

“Since when did you get so proactive about talking to girls?” Jaime looked at the two women. A very tall blonde fellow was running boxes behind them from one of the two moving vans. “The taller one is rather pretty.” They were both still too short in Jaime’s opinion.

“What? Oh, yeah, she’s nice,” Gendry mumbled. Jaime glanced over at him.

“Ah, yes, the shorter one is quite pretty as well,” he said softly. “Not my type, but I can see the appeal. Probably better to wait for Sandor to give you a reason to go over there. Shouldn’t take more than an hour. Maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll come over here. Either way, buck up.”

*******Margaery*******

“Did you see the neighbors checking you out?” Brienne asked, hauling in the last of her boxes from her moving van. Mrs. Mordane had had the moving men unload her things first and was currently ordering them around inside the house.

“What?! No!” Margaery whirled around, her hand to her hair instinctively.

“They’re gone now,” Arya said without looking.

“You knew?! Why didn’t you say something? I must look frightful. What a first impression…” Margaery said mournfully.

“There is little going on that I am not aware of,” Arya said with a smirk. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she looked wonderful in her “just tumbled out of bed” look. Margaery envied Arya’s laid back nature, though the girl was the first one to spring into action when the situation called for it. “Where’d Sansa get off to?”

“Backyard. She’s making notes about the greenhouse she wants to set up. Robb and Jon shooed her out because she was getting in the way of them moving your boxes.” Margaery sighed. Garlen and Loras had come to help her, but they left as soon as they were done, needing to get back to their families and/or work. “I should get started on unpacking, I guess. How about we doll ourselves up later and go say hi?” she asked Arya. The younger girl snorted and walked into the house.

*******Sansa*******

Sansa had her measuring tape out and was writing down the measurements of the area she had deemed fit for her greenhouse. As a biology student with a specialty in medical botany, she was most eager to get it set up before the summer got underway. She was looking forward to moving her specimens into it. Robb and Jon had promised to help her build it, though she would have to go get the supplies on her own. She was fairly certain she could get a greenhouse kit from the home improvement store.

Her task done, she looked over at the neighbor’s yard. The fence was only three feet tall, and she had noticed the lovely garden of vegetables, fruits and herbs growing next door when she had first come outside. It even included some trees that were currently blooming. Lemon and orange trees, possibly a fig tree as well, if she wasn’t mistaken.  _ No one’s around... _ Curiosity had her jumping the fence for a closer inspection, though she nearly fell on her face when her foot caught on the wooden slat. Kneeling down, she touched the soil, then the small plant residing in it. She smiled.  _ Fragaria ananassa, or the strawberry. This is a particularly nice specimen. Oh, maybe I can ask for a sample to cultivate… _

“What the fuck are you doing in my garden?” came an angry voice behind her. She froze. “Little birds, I expect, but not full grown women.”

She reddened as she realized her faux pas. Curiosity be damned, she should not have crossed the fence. She stood up slowly and turned around. “I apologize for my trespass, I was just admiring it.” She kept her eyes on the grass, not daring to look up at the man. A set of huge feet came into her view. Her eyes went a little wide, if the man’s feet were this large, then how big was the man? She mentally shook herself. “I was careful to not harm any of the plants or disturb the garden in general. Please, sir, I was only curious. I will keep to my side of the fence from now on.”

“Your side? Oh, you’re the new neighbor then?” His voice was deep and had a delightful rasp to it.  _ Is he a smoker? _

“Yes, well, one of them. There’s four of us, and our den mother.”

“You sound like a fuckin’ sorority house,” he commented. She giggled.

“I suppose we do, but only Margaery is a legacy, and they don’t have a chapter of her mother’s sorority house at KLU. Our parents decided that if we were going to move out of the dormitories, then we needed to have a responsible adult with us.” That was more or less the truth. She peeked up at him, but she only saw up to his shoulders. They were massive and broad.  _ He’s so tall! _ She was fairly certain even Robb, who was taller than her, couldn’t look the man straight in the eye.

“Have a problem looking people in the eye, girl?”

Her face reddened again, and she managed to whisper, “A little bit.” Ever since the fiasco that had ended with her leaving the United Colleges of Dorne, she had been like this, but this giant probably wasn’t interested. She felt him staring at her.

“Just as well,” he muttered. “Pretty thing like you would devastate the male population if you wanted and had the confidence to do it.” She felt her blush grow hotter. A lot of people told her she was pretty, but this guy was the first one to seem... _ sad _ ...about it.

“I’m...sorry? I think…” she said quietly. “Can’t help the way I look.”

She felt his stare on her again, then was startled by his bark of laughter. “Fair enough. Name’s Sandor. So, you like gardens then?”

That made her smile. “I’m Sansa. Please to meet you. Actually…”

*******Arya*******

Arya watched from the back window as her sister spoke with the ugly old man. His face was half scarred and he stared at Sansa like she was an alien, but more like Captain Kurt looked at the green skinned women, and less like Spock looked at them. Her ever watchful eyes flicked back to Sansa, taking in her relaxed posture as she talked animatedly with her hands. The subject was most likely the extensive garden she could see from where she stood inside the house. While it was good that Sansa was making a new friend, Arya could only wish it was with someone less… well, the word  _ wretched _ came to mind. The man looked foul, like he would eat her gentle sister up in one bite after he ravaged her like an animal. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him and to talk to Brienne and Margaery about it.

_ Let’s see, three by the window and now this one. At least four occupants in that house. I still can’t believe Mom and Dad didn’t let me scout this place out before renting it! Too many vulnerable areas of attack for my liking. I could have showed them this undesirable and we’d be living somewhere I can keep Sansa safe. _

She heard Ms. Richie Rich walk up behind her. “Oooo, is that a love connection going on or-- Oh gods! What the hell happened to his face?!” Margaery gasped in horror. “Why hasn’t she run inside by now?”

Arya snorted. Just like Margaery to forget Sansa’s quirk. “She likely hasn’t looked him in the eye yet, or past his chest. She’s like a lamb to the slaughter. You see the way he’s eyeing her?”

“Oh, dear...but, she seems comfortable with him. That’s good, right? How long have they been talking?”

Arya glanced at her watch. “About fifteen minutes.”

“That’s...wow, that’s really good then. I think we should let them be for the most part, but we’ll all keep a close eye on the two of them, ok?”

Arya scowled, “Fine.”

“Oh, wow, he’s hot. Got that smouldering stubborn look going on,” Margaery said, pointing at a third person. Arya glanced over, then whipped her head back to stare at the man. He wasn’t hot, he was gorgeous. 

And then he started yelling at the scarred man, scaring Sansa into hiding behind the giant, who looked bored by the gorgeous one. Margaery was out the back door with Arya hot on her heels.

“The fuck is wrong with you, Gendry,” the giant said more than asked. Mr. Gorgeous was apparently named Gendry.  _ Stupid hunky man with a stupid cool name. _

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re out here dawdling while--”

“Shut the fuck up and back away from my sister, the both of you,” Arya said loudly and with force. She jumped the fence easily and continued her determined walk towards the two. Mr. Gendry the Stupidly Gorgeous backed up a few steps, though Scar the Plain Stupid merely raised an eyebrow at the tiny terror. She heard Sansa squeak and saw Scar’s shirt tighten, most likely from Sansa gripping onto it from the back. “Margaery, please retrieve my sister and take her back inside.”

“N-no! I’m st-staying!” Sansa sputtered. Scar continued to let Sansa use him as a barrier between herself and the other three.  “S-sandor’s going to make s-something for us. A w-welcome gift. He s-said…” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “He said I c-could help.”

Arya’s eyes narrowed at Scar Called Sandor. “Is that so?”

Scar glared back at her. “Someone who appreciates the hard work I put into my plants is always welcome in my kitchen, runt.” 

She clenched her jaw, “Sansa, go with Margaery. We’ll talk about this inside the house.”

“But Arya…”

_ “Sansa. Now.” _

She looked like she was going to argue, but the big brute turned his head to her and Arya could just barely hear him whisper, “Go on inside, little bird. You can peck at the garden later. I promise.”

Sansa still didn’t look him in the face, but that was expected. She nodded and went with Margaery back to their house. Arya waited until she saw the door close behind them before turning back to the two men. Gorgeous or not, she had promised Dad she would protect Sansa and she was not above cutting her nose off to spite her face if it was for her family. 

“Listen up, asstriscuits, you will stay a fucking  _ proper _ distance away from my sister. You’re our neighbors, and I get that the chances of interactions are pretty damn high, considering her obsession with everything botanical and the godsbedamned treasure chest you have there.” She pointed behind the men with an angry jab. Sandor the Giganticus Scarucus merely raised his unburnt eyebrow at her, while Gendry the Gorgeously Stupid turned and looked at the garden. Stupidly.  _ Why are the pretty ones so dumb? _ “If I find out you so much as make her  _ sniffle _ and I will cut you from navel to nose and then shove my hairpin into your eyeball and out the back of your skull. You got that?”

“Whatever, runt. We don’t hurt girls here,” the giganticus scoffed, still unimpressed with her. “If your sister sniffles, it’ll be from allergies.”

Arya gave him a cruel smile. “Fine, but you better make sure  _ all _ your little roommates are aware of this rule. I’ll tell her she’s welcome to come back over then.”

*******Gendry*******

Gendry watched her walk away, a tiny spitfire of protectiveness. He had admired the way her eyes shone like molten silver as she threatened their safety if her sister was harmed.

“She’s incredible,” he whispered. Sandor glanced over at him.

“Gen, you have a problem,” he muttered and turned to walk back into the garden.

“Why do you say that?” He frowned and followed Sandor. Sandor picked up and shoved a basket into Gendry’s hands. He must have abandoned it when he discovered the sister, Sansa, nosing around his precious garden.

“That girl just threatened to kill you twice in one breath and you complimented her. She’s insane.” Sandor started picking lemons from the tree, skipping over any that weren’t ‘just right’. “Though, you’re insane, too, so maybe it would be a good match.”

“I am  _ not _ insane,” he grumbled.

“You’re an artist. All the good ones are a little fucked up in the head. It’s what makes the art so good,” Sandor said. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“And you’re not?”

“Never said I wasn’t. I just talked with a woman who couldn’t look at my face due to her own personal issues, and all I could think was, ‘maybe I have a shot.’ That’s a little messed up.” Sandor tossed some overripe lemons into the compost pile. “Just...don’t turn your back on the little one, not yet anyway.”

Gendry looked over at the other house. Sansa had yet to come back out. He felt a little bad about interrupting what looked like a good conversation between his roommate and the pretty girl who was actually willing to talk to him for more than two seconds. If the situation had been reversed, Gendry would have attempted to rip Sandor a new one. “Sorry about earlier. Getting mad and...interrupting.”

Sandor shrugged. “It’s fine. Not like she won’t come back. She still hasn’t seen my herbs.”

*******Sandor*******

Jaime was sitting at the island counter, attempting to sneak tastes from the bowl of lemon creme. Sandor had a riding crop at hand and smacked Jaime’s knuckles each time. “You know, my mother would just use her stirring spoon to hit my hand,” Jaime said sourly. It wasn't the first time he had heard this story, so he knew that Jaime hadn’t minded since batter would usually end up on his hand and he could just eat that instead.

“Then go to her kitchen,” he growled.

“She banned me after the brownie incident,” Jaime said, standing up. “FINE. I’ll go watch tv or something. I want the first bite though!”

“Not likely,” Sandor said, whisking the creme to a stiff peak. He almost missed the tiny knock at the kitchen door. “Come in!” he yelled. The door opened hesitantly and he saw a red head poke through.

“Um, hello,” the little red bird squeaked. He turned his head back to his work and not because he was trying to avoid her seeing his scars for a few minutes more. 

“Uh, come on in. Take a seat,” he muttered. He barely heard her walk across the tiles. She was soon sitting across from him, her hands clasped tightly together on top of the counter. “Thought your sister might have convinced you we were going to murder and make a pie out of you.”

“Nah, you don’t even have a barber’s chair or sing for no reason,” she said softly. “Unless this bar stool is right above a trap door I’m missing.”

“‘There's a hole in the world like a great black pit, / And the vermin of the world inhabit it, / And its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit, / And it goes by the name of...King’s Landing. At the top of the hole sit a privileged few / Making mock of the vermin of the lower zoo. Turning beauty into filth and greed’,” he said in a low voice. He felt a little warm when she smiled.  _ Oven must be on too high. _

“I haven’t seen that in ages,” she said, still smiling, though her eyes were very clearly glued to the work bowl in his hands. 

“You like it, then?”

“I love musicals. My dad took me to see Cats when I was five. You?” she asked nervously.

He studied her for a bit, then handed her a small bowl of lemons, an empty bowl, a cutting board and a small knife. “Cut these in half and then juice them into the second bowl. Don’t worry about seeds or pulp. I’m not that big a fan of musicals. I only saw Sweeney Todd because Bronn, one of my roommates, didn’t want to go alone. It was bloody good though, emphasis on bloody. Ended up buying the movie production of it, too.”

“Oh,” was all she said. She sounded a bit dejected.

It was a knee jerk reaction. It had to be, because he continued, “But it’s not like I hate or even dislike musicals in general, just haven’t really watched a lot. I’m open to others. Maybe you could...educate me?” He wanted to kick himself.  _ Smooth, real smooth. She’s going to see right through that. _

“Really?” she asked with excitement. “No one ever wants to watch musicals with me. Oh, but Arya will insist that it be over at our house. She’s...she’s very protective.”

He allowed himself to smile a bit. A sort of date with a pretty girl, even if her sister would likely gut him if he looked at her wrong. “That’s fine, little bird.” 

*******Brienne*******

Brienne found Mrs. Mordane, Arya and Margaery in the kitchen. Arya was sulking and Margaery was talking about something to Mrs. Mordane while she cooked.

“He was huge! Probably be ruggedly handsome if half his face wasn’t messed up. I thought he and Arya were going to throw down right then and there,” Margaery exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Brienne asked.

“Sansa made a friend. A very scary, foul, completely unexpected friend, whom Arya has already threatened and did not back down. She’s unhappy about that,” Margaery said patiently. “Sansa’s next door, talking to him, helping him make a welcome-to-the-neighborhood present. Arya was spying on them, but apparently all they’re doing is baking. Oh! He made her laugh. Poor Arya was very upset about that. She wanted a reason to kick his ass.”

Brienne raised her pale eyebrows. “She’s alone with him?”

“Seems that way, hence little miss sulky pants over there. Sansa’s a little taken with him, to be honest. While Arya was delivering her usual navel to nose sentiments, Sansa was telling me he grows all of his own produce, minus some more exotic ones, and he runs a farm-to-table store at the local farmer’s market. They own the property on the other side of them as well so he has plenty of room for farming or gardening or whatever he wants to call it. She was positively fawning over the plants he was showing her that were near the front of the area and he offered to show her around. Then the hot, shouty one came out and scared the living daylights out of her by yelling at her new friend. I expected him to shout right back, he certainly looked like he wanted to, but he didn’t. If he steps out of line with her, we’ll know soon enough. Oh, Arya says there’s only two more people living in that house.”

“Curious. Back to Sansa though, she saw his face?” Brienne asked.

“Uh,  _ no, _ of course not. She admitted she tried but was unable to look above his chest. I had to tell her, but she seemed ok about it. Said he must have gone through something terrible and needed a friend just like she did.” 


	2. Chapter 2

*******Bronn*******

Heaven had lost an angel, for who else could be standing in front of him? Margaery had escorted the scared one over to hang out with Sandor again. The two were currently in Sandor's garden, chatting about only the gods knew what, and here was Margaery. Bronn suspected the tiny, angry one had asked Margaery to watch over the scared one, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

“I can bring some chairs out so you'll be more comfortable,” he said, standing next to her. He had never seen Sandor so...not angry. It was amazing the effect the scared one had on his friend. She was a bit odd. Her hair covered practically all of her face, and she wore clothing that covered almost every bit of her. He was almost surprised she wasn't wearing a face mask.

“It's alright. I am a bit thirsty though.”

“Tap water ok? Gendry drank the last of the sodas without realizing it and then started freaking out because he wants to make a good impression on the tiny terror. He went to go get some more, but it’ll take a bit. He's very particular.”

“Water’s fine.” She followed Bronn into the kitchen, but kept near the windows. “Gendry...dark haired one? Hmm...might have a tough time with Arya. She thinks he’s a bit slow in the brain.”

“He is. She threatened to kill him and he still likes her. Have to be slow to like a woman who’s done that.” He got a glass and filled it with ice before adding in the water and handing it to her.

"For what it's worth, I think she's attracted to him as well, just… thinks he's very stupid." She took a sip of the water. "So, are you like the dad of the group?"

"Ha! Something like that. Sandor's definitely the mom of the group. We'd fall to pieces without him keeping us organized." He shook his head. They fell into a somewhat comfortable silence. 

"I still can't believe how comfortable Sansa is around your friend. He's not what I expected when I thought of who she would let her guard down for."

Bronn frowned. "What sort of person did you expect?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Maybe a child? Someone who hasn't the notion of thinking that there might be something wrong with her."

"Ah, well, Sandor knows, he just doesn't care. Got enough of his own issues to deal with, ya know?" Bronn shifted slightly. "You sure you don't want a chair?"

"No, I'm good." She looked at him with a slow smile. "If you want to get a chair, that's fine. And if I get tired, I'll just sit on your lap, ok?"

Bronn nodded, a little in shock, but happily retrieved a chair from inside.

*******Jaime*******

“Whoa, you are  _ not _ a man.”

The person he thought was an effeminate man turned around, bright blue eyes glaring at him. Her white shirt was tied in a knot, accentuating her curves and showing off some very nice, creamy white skin and muscle tone. Her capri pants showed off her calves, which Jaime particularly had a fondness for. Add in a tricorn hat and a cutlass, and she'd be a regular pirate wench. He wondered what she would look like in killer heels and promptly started salivating at the imagery.

“Congratulations, you win a cookie.”

“I do? What kind?” Jaime loved free cookies.

“The imaginary kind,” she said, turning her back on him. Jaime laughed. The redhead looked aghast, though if it was at her companion’s manners or Jaime's bluntness, he couldn't tell. Sandor just shook his head at Jaime, grumbling under his breath. He had noticed the three of them doing something in the girls' backyard and hopped the fence to investigate. "He's still there, isn't he?" the blonde asked her housemate. The redhead had her head ducked down, her bangs covering her eyes, but she nodded vigorously. "Figures."

"Can I help?" Jaime asked.

"Do you even know what we're doing?" Sandor growled at him.

"Uh…" 

"Sounds like a no to me," the blonde said, glaring at Jaime. "Go home, pretty boy. We're good here."

"But…" Jaime took a closer look at the stuff in front of them. He recognized enough of the items to figure it out. "You're building a greenhouse, aren't you?"

The blonde woman arched an annoyed brow at him, as if to say, "So?"

"I can help!"

"The fuck you can," Sandor growled, moving slightly forward in a protective stance. Jaime frowned, then noticed that the redhead was slowly moving behind Jaime's scarred housemate.  _ Oh, right… she's the scaredy cat. _

"Come on, I know all about building stuff! I helped Tyrion build that playhouse for his kids."

Sandor grumbled. "He did do a good job with that one." A quick glance to the redhead, then he said to Jaime, "Fine, but if you do  _ anything _ to upset either of these ladies, I will cut you into bits, feed you to the neighbor's dogs, then use their shit in my compost bin!"

Jaime grinned at Sandor.  _ He must like the redhead if he's threatening dismemberment for her. _ The last woman he had done that for had turned out to be unworthy of the punishment.  _ I should keep an eye on this one. It's the right thing to do, _ he thought, conveniently ignoring the fact that he'd be around the interesting blonde woman as well. "I promise to behave."

*******Sansa*******

She wasn't that great in the kitchen, but Mrs. Mordane had been kind and lent her a hand for her “date”. Arya was moody and upset the entire time, but didn't say a word until Sansa was setting up the living room. 

“There is no way in  _ any of the seven hells _ that you are cozying up to that monster on the couch!”

“But Arya, the couch is the most comfortable…” She had given up days ago on correcting Arya for calling him "monster".

“I. Don't.  _ Care. _ We don't  _ know _ him. He could be a rapist or a serial killer--”

Margaery snorted. “Never heard of a serial killer that makes melt in your mouth lemon meringue  _ and _ grows his own produce.”

“That doesn't mean it's not possible!”

“Girls, calm down,” Mrs. Mordane chimed in. “The two of them won't be alone in the house, and we can ask your brothers to stop by to check on us. Not that I think this young man means Sansa any harm, but if it will make Arya more accepting of this date, then by all means.”

“It's not a  _ date,” _ Arya said with a scowl, picking up her phone to call Jon, most likely. Mrs. Mordane shook her head and returned to the kitchen to finish making dinner. 

Sansa bit her lip, worrying as she continued her fidgeting and moving things around the living room. Margaery was texting with Loras, and Brienne was at an evening class. 

“Margaery?”

“Mmhmm?”

“It wouldn't be...it wouldn't be  _ terrible _ if this was a date, right?” She was holding up one of the throw pillows in front of her face, nervously trying to be calm. “I’m not… I’m not… undateable, right?”

Margaery blinked in surprise. “Oh, honey! Of course you aren’t! This… this  _ issue _ you’re having, you  _ will _ get better. You’re in therapy, you have a very protective and loving family supporting you, and your friends are as well. And you have an interest in a very interesting guy. I think you’re doing quite well, considering.”

“Really?” Sansa felt hope blossoming in her chest. 

“Yes, really." Margaery smiled warmly at her friend. "You like him?”

She nodded. “He's very sweet and kind, under all that gruff and grump. When we were in his garden two days ago, after we built my greenhouse, I was showing him how to handle some particularly fragile bulbs, to help increase their chances of survival, and we touched hands and…” Sansa broke off, smiling a little. There had been a little zing when their skin touched, and her heart and stomach had fluttered like a thousand butterflies were going to war. Her eyes had gone to his face, just for a moment, but in that moment, she saw that he was blushing hard, staring at where their hands touched. He hadn't noticed her looking at him. His scarred side was facing her, but it wasn't as scary as everyone had told her it was. “It was nice.” His lips had been parted and she had wanted to lean over and-- "It was very nice," she said, blushing and gripping the pillow tightly.

“Oh, honey… You're crushing on him! Well, how do you plan to play it tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“What's your end goal here? Do you want to make out, just get a little closer?”

“Oh, um... I… I think I would like to k-kiss him. Maybe not tonight… but… eventually… and… I think I want to ask him out. On a proper date." 

"Wow. You haven't wanted to do that since…" 

"Yeah, I know," Sansa said softly. "I might change my mind once I get to know him, but what I know so far… I really, really like him."

"Oh, honey," Margaery said, hugging Sansa.

*******Margaery*******

She grinned when she saw the text message from him. It had only been a week ago that she had given him her number, and in that time, he had become the person she texted with the second most. Loras was the first, of course. 

**CutieB: What are you up to today, princess?**

**M: Not much. Finished some work. Currently watching Sansa fret over your friend coming over. It’s adorable.**

**CutieB: She’s not having second thoughts, is she?**

**M: Very much not. She wants him to like her. She’s worried about something going wrong, like little sister killing him.**

**CutieB: Ah. I could see that happening. Well, so long as she’s not backing out, should be fine. He’s just as nervous.** ****  
**Changed clothes at least five times now. Jaime’s with him, since he’s the only one who knows about dressing to impress.** **  
** **We haven’t told him that Sandor’s only going next door, otherwise he’d want to come too. He'll likely be spying on him though, once he finds out, so let the others know. Gendry will most likely tag along, just to keep Jaime out of trouble but also because he's in love with the tiny terror. I think he's going to try and distract Jaime, but who knows if it will work or not.**

**M: That. Is. Adorable. Those two were made for each other. LOL. And I will make sure Arya knows about the peeping Jaime so that she doesn't kill him by accident. No guarantees on Gendry though. Arya's crushing on him, but she's in major denial about her feelings.**

**CutieB: So… since Sandor's going over there, and Gendry and Jaime will likely end up over there as well… wanna come hang out with me? We'll have the whole house to ourselves. ;)**

Margaery grinned. She had been trying to figure out how to ask him when he had gone and asked for her! Her neighbor was definitely going to get some tonight.

**M: See you soon, honey. ;)**

*******Arya*******

"I will try to not kill them."

"Arya, please, they're just worried about their friend, same as we are about Sansa. Don't kill them if they come snooping." Margaery was pleading her case, but Arya hated making promises like that. "Come on, I really like Bronn and if I can get some alone time with him tonight, I promise I will owe you big time later on." 

Arya rolled her eyes. "Fine! Jeez, he's not even that hot, but if you wanna bang him, that's your deal. I won't kill the snoops, but I make no guarantees on just maiming them."

Margaery kissed Arya, which had the younger girl sputtering and wiping her mouth. Margaery grinned and ignored that. "That's all I ask. I'll be back before the movie is over!" she yelled over her shoulder as she walked off.

"Ugh, if I wanted to swap spit, I'd rather it be with--" A small explosion came from next door. Arya looked out the window to see the stupid, gorgeous Gendry standing behind a van, the back doors open, bags of groceries sitting next to his fee, and yelling at his housemates to help him while he was frantically trying to stop a plastic jug of soda pop from dousing him. The plastic jug was winning that battle, leaving Gendry soaked in blue soda and his stained white shirt sticking to all his rippling, bulging… "Gods  _ damn _ it!" she shouted, startling Mrs. Mordane.

*******Gendry*******

"Damn it, guys! I'm serious! I need help!" Gendry shouted at the house. He could  _ see _ Bronn laughing from the window. "I will get you back for this!"

He mumbled curses under his breath towards his housemate as the soda that had popped open  _ finally _ stopped its explosive flow. He had been kicking himself since drinking the last of the available beverages the other day, but when he went to the store to resupply, he hadn't been able to find the one Sandor liked the most. He had to find it.  _ He had to. _ After interrupting Sandor with Sansa the first day, he  _ needed _ to make it up to him. He had been to every store in the whole of King's Landing, and finally,  _ finally, _ today he had found it. Sandor had told him to not worry, that it was all good, but once Gendry got a notion in his head, it was hard to let go.

Reaching to pick up the rest of the bags, Gendry was startled to see that they were missing. "What the…" 

"Are you coming or not, idiot?" he heard from the side of the car. He looked around the vehicle to see the object of his dreams looking at him with murderous intent. In each of her hands were the missing bags of groceries. "I have better things to do than help you, you know."

Gendry briefly wondered why she wasn't doing those things instead, but then was jumping to close the doors of the van and join her. Her anger was tangible as she followed him into the house, putting the groceries down on the kitchen table with a loud thunk. "Than--"

"If you tell me where stuff goes, I'll put things away." Her jaw clenched, but Gendry also saw the crease in her brow. 

_ She's nervous… _ he thought. "Uh, sure, most of that goes into the pantry, but it's pretty self explanatory once you see it." He watched her open the pantry and freeze.

"Whoa. Who's the anal retentive person who organized all this?" It was color coded and labeled. Gendry grinned. 

"Sandor. It's his kitchen, so he rules over it with an iron fist. A place for everything and everything in its place." 

Arya looked back at him. "He's a tyrant."

"Maybe, but none of us are willing to do his part, so we're more than happy to go along with it." Gendry shrugged. His one try at cooking had nearly burnt his mother's house to the ground.

"And why exactly are you four living together?" she asked, putting things away. Gendry had kept the refrigerated things for himself to put away, since the fridge was a bit more complicated than the pantry.

"Mostly to save money, and… well, we all have different personal reasons, but mine is that I'm an artist. I make a decent living, but it sort of ebbs and flows. It's inconsistent. Living with these guys makes financial sense for me. And I've lived with them long enough that they've become my friends. Bronn and Sandor knew each other before this, and Jaime and I both answered a 'roommates wanted' ad. So, I guess the only reason I would move out would be to start a new chapter in my life, like in another city, or if I… was serious about a woman…" He glanced over at her when he said it. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but he thought he saw her pause for a microsecond.

"If you're waiting for some woman to sweep you off your feet, you'll probably be waiting a long time. Idiot."

Gendry's grin grew. There was absolutely no heat behind her words. "You wanna play some video games after this?"

"What kind?"

"There's a few we have. I'll let you pick." He was almost done with his share of the groceries.

"Depends on what you've got, but I could go for some racing or fighting."

"I'll have you know that I am  _ very _ good at video games." He didn't know why he was challenging her, but he definitely caught her interest. She peered over her shoulder at him. "You might cry," he added.

"We'll see about that," she replied, a slow smile finally gracing her face.

*******Sandor*******

He wondered how close the little bird would get to him before her sister tried to skewer him. He was only half watching the singing and dancing on the screen. It was a modern musical about some high school crap, and was actually entertaining simply because it was so ridiculous, but the real entertainment was the shy woman on the couch with him. She had plunked him down near the middle of the couch when he first arrived and told him to help himself to the provided snacks. 

For the past week, she had been in his garden every single day. She still hadn't looked him in the eye, but from what he understood, it was completely normal. It was the "wanting to hang around someone who wasn't a family member or friend" part that was unusual. He would have felt honored if there wasn't a certain amount of pressure attached to it. The daily death threats from Arya weren't even the problem, he just didn't want to disappoint Sansa.

He knew she snuck looks at his face when he wasn't looking directly at her and she hadn't run away. Yet. He couldn't believe she found him interesting, but he'd take what he could get. She had a habit of mumbling to herself and writing notes in her notebook, notes that made little sense to him, though she had offered some advice on improving the crop yield to his chili peppers based on the notes. 

She had scooted another inch closer to him. Still no screaming banshee sister. He decided that if she got close enough for their knees to touch, he'd try for a kiss goodnight when it was time to leave. Just on the forehead, so as not to freak her out. 

Another inch. Five more to go. Was she even paying attention to the movie? The protagonist, a basketball playing kid with “cute” hair, was whining in song about love. He was mostly certain the movie was nearly over, just based on the time and the way the story was moving along. It was a bit predictable, but still kind of enjoyable.

He heard giggles coming from behind them. The one Bronn liked, Margaret or Mary or something, marched around and told Sansa to scoot over and make some room. She practically shoved Sansa into his lap. She squeaked, but pressed into his side. He would be a liar if he said he was annoyed or didn't enjoy it. He even put his arm over her shoulders. She tensed momentarily, then relaxed a little into his side. Brienne came in and joined them as well, though she sat in one of the other chairs, not on the couch. Both of the other women were randomly playing on their phones while the singing teens worked out their problems through dance on the tv screen. 

“Oh, shit.” 

“What's wrong, Brie?” the little bird asked. 

“Uh, it's Jaime. He's on his way over. Sansa, I am so sorr--”

"WENCH! Ow!" A thud came from the living room window, making them all turn towards it. Jaime was being squished against the glass by Gendry, who looked ready to murder Jaime. 

*******Brienne*******

She wasn't sure how it had happened, but Jaime was sitting next to her on the loveseat. He had pulled her legs up to rest on his lap, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable she was. Gendry was sitting next to Arya, who alternated murderous looks at Sandor with nervous looks at Gendry. Margaery was sitting on the floor, playing a mobile game on her phone. And Sansa… she looked content. Relaxed almost. She was snuggled up to Sandor as the second movie was playing, glancing up at him constantly. Sandor looked pretty content as well. 

Jaime had picked the film, some weird romcom called "Assassin In Love" because he liked an actor in it. Brienne snuck a glance at the man beside her. He was completely focused on the movie and didn't notice Brienne watching him.

The man was a puzzle. From what Sandor had told her, she knew he came from money. He hated his family, except for his younger brother, whom he loved to pieces. Bronn had told her that Jaime was basically like a little kid when he wasn't on the clock, and he attributed it to how put together Jaime  _ had _ to be at work. "He's so tense at the office, once he gets home, he just lets everything go. Kind of like Jekyll and Hyde, but no murdering."

"Wench, this is a great part," he whispered to her. "Just watch Sandy."

"For fuck's sake, man, that is not how you knead bread!" Sandor hissed at the screen as the protagonist, an assassin pretending to be a baker while in hiding, poked at the lump of dough in front of him. "And stop smoking while you're in the kitchen! So fucking unsanitary…" 

Sansa giggled and whispered to the big man.

He gave her a cross look that just made her giggle harder. "Minx," was all he said.

"Will you two shut it?" Arya snarled. "Some of us are trying to enjoy this debacle."

"So what's the name of the baker, wolf girl?" Sandor asked, raising his good eyebrow.

Arya went red. "Just shut up and watch the damn movie!" Meaning she probably had no idea, since she was too busy watching everyone. Brienne would have laughed, if she wasn't so tense from Jaime's presence. Such a confusing man.

"It's Milo Shakespeare."

"I said shut up!"

"Sandor," Sansa whispered. "Shhhhh… this is a really good part." The big man chuckled, but quieted down.

Later, once the movie was over, he finally released her legs, but she still felt as trapped as ever as he leaned closer. "Did you enjoy the movie?"

"I suppose. I'm not really into romantic comedies, but I liked action parts, and the comedy. And how the rival assassin ended up falling for one of the townsfolk. That was cute." The actor who played that character looked a lot like Jaime. "Do you have a twin?"

"How'd you guess?" he asked, his eyes lighting up. "He was born a girl, but Cersei underwent 'the change' and is now Nicolaj, and a damn fine actor. Still a bitch though. I'm so proud of him, but also, I hate him."

That was not what she was expecting. "But not your other brother?"

"Tyrion? Never. He's an asshole. I love him to bits." 

Brienne watched Sansa speak briefly to Arya, then escort Sandor to the door. Arya waited all of two seconds then followed with Gendry in tow. Margaery had already retired to bed, leaving her alone with Jaime. "Um… It's getting late… I should get to bed."

"Oh… yeah, sure, me too. Big day tomorrow." Jaime hesitated a moment, then got up. "You know, if you ever want to have lunch, I'd be happy to treat you to the company restaurant. They've got really good taco bowls. And, well, really everything is delicious there, but it's also got a fantastic view."

"I shouldn't…" The flicker of hurt that flashed across his face made Brienne regret saying that instantly. "I mean, I'm job hunting, and I really need to focus on that for the moment."

"You are? I thought you were a student?" he asked.

"Sansa and Margaery are the students. Grad students. Arya is… a mystery, to be honest, and I'm a recent graduate." 

"Well, maybe… once you find a job, you can take me up on the offer. It doesn't have to be lunch, it can be dinner. Or breakfast. Or fourth meal. The place is open twenty-four hours a day, so… whenever is good for you."

She grinned, despite herself. "I'll think about it."


End file.
